Houston has been doing a better job at finding homes for more animals and, according to BARC, it now has about 150 rescue partners.

Recently, City Council gave BARC its first major budget increase in years. ("State rule clarification threatens 'no-kill' efforts" Page A1, June 30) Although there's much room for improvement, BARC is making some progress in its efforts to round up stray dogs. Now council needs to act to make sure that a new clarification to a state rule doesn't bite BARC or privately run animal-rescue operations.

The clarification, issued by the Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners in August, could potentially shut down BARC's wellness program, according to BARC Director Greg Damianoff. The clarification calls for the same level of care and attention for shelter and rescue animals as required from a private veterinarian. A strict interpretation would mean that a vet would need to be on the premises of shelters 24/7.

The rule could have an even bigger impact on privately run animal-rescue operations and small shelters that can't afford full-time vets. Volunteers perform routine care for animals on intake including administering vaccinations without a vet present at some small shelters and rescue operations.

While the current rule would mean that vets themselves must be present for routine care and vaccinations of such animals, state law permits trained staff at these sites to administer lethal injections to animals. The situation will encourage euthanasia, according to state Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, a leading animal advocate in the Legislature. "We already have high-kill shelters and this would just exacerbate that. They're just going to turn into euthanasia centers," says Farrar.

There may be other negative consequences as well. Without immediate attention to incoming animals by trained volunteers, "disease will run rampant," says Andrea Birkelbach at Houston Pets Alive! She adds, "Processing animals by a trained volunteer is a great preventive health measure."

According to Nicole Oria, the Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners' executive director, the agency will not target shelters because it only takes action when it receives a complaint. But the board has already tried to discipline the executive director of a shelter in Austin and San Antonio under the rule. The public interest is not served by a law on the books that is a "good law" only because it is rarely enforced.

San Antonio and Austin have passed local ordinances making shelter staff and volunteers "caretakers" as a way around the state requirement. We have no such ordinance in Houston. City Council should act quickly to clear up the confusion surrounding this rule "clarification."

Our shelters and rescue operators need clear rules that grant them flexibility with respect to volunteers in order to provide quality care for animals.